Jacob Kersey, a Georgia police officer, resigned from his position while being investigated by authorities for saying “there’s no such thing as gay marriage” on social media.
Also Read | Why Lisa Marie Presley failed to cash in $25M insurance policy before death to pay off debts
Before leaving the military, the 19-year-old police officer was assigned to the Port Wentworth department. The officer has since clarified that he feels pressured into leaving his position because of a Facebook post he made about gay marriage.
Who was Jacob Kersey?
Jacob Kersey, who left the Port Wentworth Police Department earlier this month, claimed to Fox News Digital that his refusal to have his Facebook post expressing his Christian view on marriage removed on January 4 led to his placement on paid administrative leave.
According to a Jan. 13 letter of notification originally reported by The Daily Signal and sent to Fox News Digital, Kersey said in the post that was identified by his superiors as a result of “an anonymous complaint” that “God designed marriage.”
“Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there’s no such thing as homosexual marriage.”
But as soon as he realized he would lose his job, he moved quickly to submit his resignation. According to reports, Jacob is currently seeking legal advice and is thinking about suing the worried individuals.
Offending people is now becoming a punishable offense. This didn’t happen in Russia or Canada. This happened in the US. It happened in Georgia. It happened to me.
I resigned after backlash over my traditional marriage views. @DailySignal https://t.co/lsOs4o3Fa8
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) January 25, 2023
Major Bradwick Sherrod’s letter
Major Bradwick Sherrod said in his letter to Kersey that although the department’s examination of his social media posts “did not find sufficient evidence to establish a violation of any policies,” his remarks concerning “protected classifications” like the LBGTQ community were nevertheless inappropriate, and “could raise reasonable concerns regarding your objectivity and the performance of your job duties when a member or suspected member of the LGBTQ+ community is involved.”
“As we have discussed previously, please be reminded that if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as able to perform, your job in a fair and equitable manner, you could be terminated,” the letter further warned.
Additionally, Maj. Bradwich informed Kersey that since 2015, same-sex unions have been permitted throughout Georgia and the USA. Jacob Kersey made it clear during a meeting with the department that he did not want to retire since he believed he had done nothing wrong.
“That’s the reason they did not fire me. They wanted me to come back to work, but they were trying to create a new department policy that would prevent me from saying anything that someone somewhere could consider offensive. That is such a dangerous precedent: that if you’re off-duty on your own time, that you could say anything — even something religious, even something at church — if someone somewhere gets offended, you can get fired for it,” he said.
“I didn’t feel confident that if I were to go out there on the streets and enforce the law, that my command staff was going to have my back,” he said. “It’s just too dangerous of a job to do that. And I did not think it wise to go back to work under those circumstances.”
“I think if you compromise your integrity and your religious beliefs and your faith to win, then you’ve lost, and I just couldn’t do that,” he added.
Jacob Kersey added that other departmental personnel approached him and assured him that he had done nothing wrong.
